Non-techie, Pretty upset right now

[morgan3820]

Just spent about 1 month and $1000 getting the right setup for a flight sim. purchased all of the software too. All I see that I got was a pdf file that tells me how to fly a real plane, not a simulated PA-28-180. And something called sysfig that does not recognize any of my hardware. As a pilot, I already know how to fly a Cherokee. I own one. What I am not is a techie. Why doesn't this thing just lauch, put an icon on my desktop. Why do I have to go to a forum for support?

Sorry for the tone and the crappy punctuation but I am pretty frustrated right about now. I looked on Youtube and all I see is other smarter people flying. Apparently flying real airplanes is easier than setting up a flight sim. What am I missing? Can somebody help?

I am leaving now and going to a happy place to calm down

Jesse

email [email protected]

[Lewis - A2A]

Hello Jesse,

welcome to the forums. You must remember that just like real flying this stuff is not so much technical as just requires some reading. So just as you make sure you read POH's etc you will read the manual.

The aircraft is an add-on aircraft for either Flight Simulator X or Lockheed Martins Prepared 3D. To use the add on aircraft simply start up your host simulation and select the aircraft you want to load.

If you give us some further information on what you have we can better help you get setup and advise.

thanks,
Lewis

[morgan3820]

OK, I am feeling a little better. Not having ever done this sort of thing it did not occur to me that PSD was not included with the Accusim 180 product. Now I understand. As I said, not very tech smart, but learning. Purchased and loaded the P3D sim. took a while on my network. It is working with the aircraft that came with it. I am reloading the accusim 180 now. once I get the basics working, I would like some help on setting it up for instrument approaches. I have also purchased megascenery for my state, but as I have P3D V3 it will not load from the disc, so I will give their tech support a call.

I am hoping to use this as an aid to keeping IFR current. Is that possible? can I set up an ILS approach? navigating/situational awareness seems to be a problem. I contacted the people at FlyQ, my preferred EFB software. They said that they will be able to link up with P3D soon.

Is there a book/pdf available that would flatten the learning curve?

Again, I apologize for the tone of my first message.

Jess

[Lewis - A2A]

Hello,

its best to first take baby steps so you dont run before being able to walk properly. Lets get you setup first and then go from there. Get P3D setup and working and then add our simulation. You can then ask as many questions here as you need, the members here as well as the development team are also experienced flight simmers, pilots, instructors and more who can help with not just the techie and general flightsim advice but also on how to best use it as a training and currency tool.

thanks,
Lewis - A2A

[Nick - A2A]

Hello Jess,

Is there a book/pdf available that would flatten the learning curve?

You may find something like this helpful: Microsoft Flight Simulator X For Pilots: Real World Training. It's written for the original FSX platform, but fundamentally both this and P3D are the same simulator.

I am hoping to use this as an aid to keeping IFR current. Is that possible? can I set up an ILS approach? navigating/situational awareness seems to be a problem.

It's certainly possible to use FSX/P3D to fly real world instrument procedures*. The navigation radios and other avionics simulated in A2A's Cherokee are pretty impressive representations of the real thing. For the most part, the actual Bendix King manuals can be used to operate them. Links to these manuals and a brief description of the avionics are provided in this thread.

Operating the various buttons and dials using a PC mouse is pretty intuitive for the most part. However, bear in mind that some of the rotary dials are designed to be turned using the scroll wheel on the mouse; not (just) by clicking.

Once you've installed the A2A Cherokee into P3D, the first step should be to download and run the Accu-Sim updater which is available from this 'pinned' forum post.

Any further specific questions, just let us know and someone will usually be able to help.

Cheers,
Nick

*Once you're more comfortable with the host sim and the A2A Cherokee, you may wish to update the simulator's navigation database to better reflect current real world instrument procedures. A gentleman called Hervé Sors has provided free tools to do just this at this website: FSX/P3D Navaids update. However, as Lewis mentionds above, it's probably best to familiarise yourself with the fundamentals of the sim before you get too carried away.

[DHenriques_]

OK, I am feeling a little better. Not having ever done this sort of thing it did not occur to me that PSD was not included with the Accusim 180 product. Now I understand. As I said, not very tech smart, but learning. Purchased and loaded the P3D sim. took a while on my network. It is working with the aircraft that came with it. I am reloading the accusim 180 now. once I get the basics working, I would like some help on setting it up for instrument approaches. I have also purchased megascenery for my state, but as I have P3D V3 it will not load from the disc, so I will give their tech support a call.

I am hoping to use this as an aid to keeping IFR current. Is that possible? can I set up an ILS approach? navigating/situational awareness seems to be a problem. I contacted the people at FlyQ, my preferred EFB software. They said that they will be able to link up with P3D soon.

Is there a book/pdf available that would flatten the learning curve?

Again, I apologize for the tone of my first message.

Jess

Hi, and welcome to A2A;

Reading over your posts my reaction is simply to say hello and welcome you to the A2A forums.
I see that the bulk of what was wrong has already been solved and you're headed in the right direction so I won't bore you to tears with a lot of do this and do that. I'm sure now that you have the base simulator installed and running the rest will go much better.
If flight simulation has piqued your interest as a real world pilot, I believe you came to the right place here at A2A to get that squared away.
Once you have either FSX or P3D up and running on a good computer system the people here on the forums can be of great help in squaring you away on getting that Cherokee you purchased off the ground and in the air.
You made a great choice when you picked the Cherokee. Personally as a CFI and flight safety advisor in the aviation community, I consider the 180 to be one of the finest add on aircraft ever produced for use in a simulator. Once up and running I believe you will find there isn't much you can do in the real airplane you can't replicate in the A2A product.
I just thought I would stop by and welcome you and wish you good luck with your simulator.
As you move along the learning curve please feel free to post questions here on the forums. There are literally hundreds of people here familiar with both the base simulators and all the A2A products who will be able to help you.

Dudley Henriques

[spacejunkee]

Like the others have said, welcome to A2A.

When you get all settled in and have your Cherokee up and flying take a look around the forum for all the repaints you can install. You can also post a request to have someone make a repaint of your personal airplane, just include a lot of pictures from good angles and you never know.

Happy flying in your A2A Cherokee!

[Molly - A2A]

Hi Jess,

Before you get too far along, I just thought I'd recommend one thing since you said you purchased Prepar3D (P3D.) You'll need to install something called Simconnect in order for the A2A Cherokee to work correctly in P3D.

To do this, open Windows Explorer and browse to the folder where your P3D is installed to and look for a folder named "redist". The full location should be like this:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v3\redist\Interface\FSX-SP2-XPACK\retail\lib

Then double click on SimConnect.msi to install it. That's all. It will save you a LOT of headache and frustration, believe me

[morgan3820]

Hi Jess,

Before you get too far along, I just thought I'd recommend one thing since you said you purchased Prepar3D (P3D.) You'll need to install something called Simconnect in order for the A2A Cherokee to work correctly in P3D.

To do this, open Windows Explorer and browse to the folder where your P3D is installed to and look for a folder named "redist". The full location should be like this:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v3\redist\Interface\FSX-SP2-XPACK\retail\lib

Then double click on SimConnect.msi to install it. That's all. It will save you a LOT of headache and frustration, believe me

Sir,

I found the 'redist' folder but could not find the 'Simconnect' folder. Redist yielded 'Interconnect' which then opened to several files stating with 'FSX' ?

Sorry to get back late, family obligations

[morgan3820]

Some hopefully simple questions.

how do I get the rudder/nosewheel working?

Is there trim for the pitch so that I can at least center the yoke detent as level flight/

How can I make these settings persistent?

How can I make the scenario persistent?

Thanks for the help.

Jess

[Molly - A2A]

Hi Jess,

Before you get too far along, I just thought I'd recommend one thing since you said you purchased Prepar3D (P3D.) You'll need to install something called Simconnect in order for the A2A Cherokee to work correctly in P3D.

To do this, open Windows Explorer and browse to the folder where your P3D is installed to and look for a folder named "redist". The full location should be like this:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v3\redist\Interface\FSX-SP2-XPACK\retail\lib

Then double click on SimConnect.msi to install it. That's all. It will save you a LOT of headache and frustration, believe me

Sir,

I found the 'redist' folder but could not find the 'Simconnect' folder. Redist yielded 'Interconnect' which then opened to several files stating with 'FSX' ?

Sorry to get back late, family obligations

Yes, within the "redist" folder drill down to Interface, then FSX-SP2-XPACK, then retail, then lib. Inside "lib" you will see SimConnect.msi. Double click that file to install it.

[Oracle427]

First and foremost get the Simconnect issue sorted. Nothing else will work at all until that is installed. These next questions you have can lead us down a deep rabbit hole.

Note that these functions you are asking about are not specific to the A2A PA-28-180 simulation. These are the basics of working with your Flight Simulation and it will take some time to learn how to get the most out of it. The answers will depend on a number of factors, not the least of which is what do you own for controls? I do not own P3D, so I will not be able to provide specific guidance on how to map controls in there. I'll leave that to the next person.

how do I get the rudder/nosewheel working?

If you own rudder pedals, then you will need to map the pedals to the rudder axis. If you own a joystick with a twist rudder function then you will need to map the twist function to the rudder axis.
If you don't own either, please let us know what you have.

Is there trim for the pitch so that I can at least center the yoke detent as level flight

Yes, and this is very important as all pilots know. I have mapped the trim up function to a button on my joystick and trim down function to another button. Some of us own the Saitek Cessna trim wheel that mimic the real Cessna trim wheel. That can be mapped to the elevator trim axis.

How can I make these settings persistent?

These control mappings are persistent when you assign and save them in your simulator. They are universal to all aircraft in the simulation. Over time as you get more knowledge in operating the P3D simulator, this will make more sense and you will learn to customize the settings as your preferences develop.

How can I make the scenario persistent?

I'll leave that for someone else, in FSX, you just chose the "Save Flight" option from the menu.

Good Luck!

[morgan3820]

OK, I have the simconnect file installed, I think, It happened quickly. My apologies for being dense about the file thing. I just now realized my oversight.

Anyway, I do not yet have a rudder pedal. I am more concerned with nosewheel steering on the ground.

I will work on the other items and comeback with a progress report.

Thanks for the help. If any of you get around eastern North Carolina and want a plane ride, let me know

PS. Does any one have any experience with Megascenery Earth. I purchased the discs for NC but cannot load them because I have P3D V3. The website offers a patch, which I downloaded but do not see how to make it work. I sent a tech support request but have not received an answer.

[morgan3820]

OK, got the rudder issue resolved

But 2 other things have popped up

1. I cannot get the left flap to retract.

2. I am having engine issues. Rough running. I tried to clear it by running lean for a while but to no effect and then it cut off entirely.

Baby steps

[Oracle427]

Have you also done the pre-flight inspection? You may have a damaged aircraft.

Press shift-8 to open the maintenance hangar while on the ground and shuit down. Make sure that all the components are okay or do a "complete overhaul" to get it back into tip-top shape. You may have a damaged flap and bad mags or fouled plugs.

If you ever want to just get up and fly and not worry about those issues on a given session you can press shift-3 and turn off damage in the menu.

Rudder and nosewheel steering are linked so if you have one, you have both. Follow real world procedures at run-up to clear rough running engines such as leaning out at running at a higher RPM to clear fouled plugs. The A2A simulation is very realistic so when in doubt do exactly what you would do in real life before assuming it is a simulator issue.

Some real pilots have been caught off guard when the starter wouldn't work, only to find out that the breaker had popped and needed to be reset.

I can reciprocate on the ride offer. If you're ever up in the NYC area drop me a line.